GOP donor, voter fraud activist is a finalist to run elections in Tarrant County
Karen Wiseman previously sued former election administrator Heider Garcia and participated in a right-wing groupโs search for 2020 voter fraud. Sheโs one of the three finalists, none of which have experience running elections.
Texasโ execution of Stephen Barbee was prolonged while officials searched for a vein
Barbee, convicted in the 2005 murders of his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her child, was unable to straighten his arms, which caused the delay. Courts allowed Barbeeโs execution despite concerns from his lawyer that his disability would make the process โtorture.โ
Crystal Masonโs contentious illegal voting conviction must be reconsidered, criminal appeals court says
Mason said she didnโt know she was ineligible to vote when she cast a provisional ballot in 2016, but she was sentenced to five years in prison. Now, the Court of Criminal Appeals says an appellate court that affirmed her conviction must look again at the evidence of Masonโs intent.
Candidates backed by conservative PAC sweep Tarrant County school board elections
All but one of the 11 Tarrant County conservative school board candidates, who were backed this year by several high-profile donors and big-money PACs, defeated their opponents during Saturdayโs local elections, according to unofficial results.
Many voting locations throughout Texas did not open because of staff shortages
In some voting locations where a partyโs appointed polling judge didnโt show up, election officials allowed the other partyโs judge to operate both partiesโ voting machines in an effort to keep the polling place running.
Federal judges wonโt halt Texas primary in state Senate district being challenged for alleged discrimination
The redrawn state Senate District 10 splits Black and Hispanic voters in Tarrant County. A full trial on whether GOP lawmakers intentionally discriminated against voters of color is expected later this year.
Texas violated voting rights law during redistricting, retiring state GOP senator says in sworn court statement
A three-judge federal panel is hearing arguments in a lawsuit claiming that Texas Republicans violated the Voting Rights Act when they redrew state Senate District 10 in Tarrant County to lessen Black and Hispanic voting power.
This historically red Texas county diversified in the last decade. Now, Republicans are trying to divide up its voters of color.
Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, said the maps were drawn โrace-blind.โ But Democratic Sen. Beverly Powell, whose district would be turned into a majority-Republican district, said theyโre an attempt to deny voters of color their voice in elections.
Texas county officials call election audits an unnecessary partisan ploy while voicing confidence in 2020 results
Officials in some counties targeted by audits accuse Republican Texas leaders of pandering to conspiracy theorists and undermining faith in elections. They also say the secretary of stateโs office hasnโt provided details on what the audits entail.
Polling places for urban voters of color would be cut under Texas Senate's version of voting bill being negotiated with House
Voters in some urban, Democratic areas of Harris and Tarrant counties would see a drastic drop in polling places under the Senate version of Senate Bill 7, a Texas Tribune analysis shows.
Texas mayoral races, Austin homeless measure among key issues on Saturday ballots. Hereโs what you need to know.
Local elections are happening across Texas on Saturday, some of which have drawn statewide โ and even national โ attention. Here are the four that we are watching most closely, plus a few other contests to keep in mind.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will review Crystal Masonโs controversial illegal voting conviction
But Tarrant County prosecutors pressed forward with charges, arguing Masonโs case came down to intent. The all-Republican courtโs decision to review Masonโs case is notable. The Court of Criminal Appeals isnโt required to review non-death penalty convictions, and it rarely grants requests to do so. Mason turned to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals late last year after a state appeals court panel affirmed the trial courtโs judgement. In her petition to the court, Masonโs lawyers argued the appeals court erred in upholding her conviction because the stateโs illegal voting statute requires a person to know they are ineligible to vote and Mason did not.
Texas county gets trucks to hold bodies amid COVID-19 surge
FORT WORTH, Texas โ A North Texas medical examinerโs office has brought in two refrigerated trucks to store dead bodies in response to low capacity amid a surge in coronavirus cases. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office, which has a capacity normally of 100 bodies, said each truck can store 50 bodies. Also Thursday, a South Texas county that has been hit especially hard by the pandemic announced that its county judge, the county's highest elected official, tested positive for COVID-19. The Texas Department of State Health Services said that 9,045 people with the coronavirus were hospitalized Thursday. State health officials on Thursday reported 12,211 new confirmed cases and 244 new deaths.
Tarrant County sees record COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations as Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price tests positive
Tarrant County reported a pandemic high of more than 2100 new cases and nearly 800 hospitalizations Wednesday, the same day Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price tested positive for COVID-19. Priceโs husband had tested positive for the virus just hours earlier. Public health officials are alarmed at the trends. On Tuesday, Vinny Taneja, the countyโs public health director, issued a โpublic health warningโ asking residents to help flatten the curve. In August, during the countyโs previous peak, more than 4,000 residents tested positive per week.
Texas approaches 7,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations amid spike
Almost 7,000 COVID-19 patients were in Texas hospitals Thursday, the most in almost three months, as infections of the coronavirus that causes the disease continue statewide, nationwide and worldwide. The 6,925 hospitalizations are the most Texas has counted since Aug. 12, according to reports by the Texas Department of State Health Services. However, state figures appear to be lagging indicators of the present COVID-19 outbreak in Texas when compared with statistics compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The state coronavirus count for the pandemic that began in March was 993,841, while the Johns Hopkins count for Texas topped 1 million earlier this week. Overall, 62,525 new coronavirus infections and 698 new COVID-19 deaths have been reported in Texas in this past week alone, according to Johns Hopkins statistics.
Democrats didnโt get a blue wave, but some of the fastest-growing suburbs in Texas are still moving to the left
Although they didnโt get the blue wave they expected, Democrats narrowed the gap with Republicans in five of the most competitive and populous suburban counties in Texas. Meanwhile, Democrats won over many voters like 28-year-old Rachel Copeland, who said she voted for Libertarian Gary Johnson in 2016. Not all suburban counties became as competitive as Tarrant. โI think we need to rethink how we talk about the blue wave,โ said Brandon Rottinghaus, political science professor at the University of Houston. It's going to affect some places more than others.โBut after those predictions of a blue wave failed to materialize this year, Cross said, Democrats will need to temper their expectations.
Texas 2020 elections: Voters deciding a bevy of heated races could shatter stateโs turnout record
Oliver said all voters were contacted and agreed to come back to the location to cast their votes for president. Going into Election Day the county, home to Houston, had easily surpassed the early voting turnout it had seen in 2016. Nearly 127,000 Harris County voters cast drive-thru ballots during the early voting period at 10 polling sites across the county, a safer option for some voters during the coronavirus pandemic. At least 9,718,648 voters cast early ballots, according to preliminary final numbers released Sunday by the Texas secretary of state. Early voting, which Gov.
Tarrant County faces delayed counts for its tightest races due to staffing shortages
Tarrant County officials are warning that coronavirus-related staffing shortages mean elections workers are unlikely to finish counting mail-in ballots on Tuesday night, potentially leaving the countyโs tightest races undecided until later this week. Tarrant County, the largest Republican-controlled county in the state, is home to a number of state legislative races and at least one congressional race that are expected to be tight. While both parties and the county government say they hope winners will be declared Tuesday night, Whitley was more cautious. To ensure mail-in ballots are processed securely, two members from differing parties on Tarrant Countyโs ballot board review each mail-in vote. Greg Abbott on Monday took notice of the staffing concerns and called on Tarrant County Republicans to volunteer as poll watchers and poll workers.
Texas has a record number of new voters. Where they are shows how the state has become more competitive.
But itโs also thanks to a surge of 1.8 million new registered voters since the 2016 election. But looking at where the new registered voters are can help us understand how the balance of voting power is subtly shifting in the state. Since 2016, they saw an increase of 630,796 registered voters, according to data collected by the Texas Secretary of State. These counties have had huge turnout and huge increases in registered voters this year, adding 533,098 new voters since 2016. They have gained 522,972 registered voters in total, and show no sign of turning blue.
Kamala Harris to visit Rio Grande Valley, Fort Worth and Houston during Texas campaign swing Friday
Kamala Harrisโ trip to Texas on Friday will include three stops across the state, including in the Rio Grande Valley, according to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Bidenโs campaign. Bidenโs running mate is set to visit to Fort Worth, Houston and McAllen. Fort Worthโs Tarrant County was the stateโs most populous county that Republican President Donald Trump won in 2016. Further details on her stops were not immediately available, but they are expected to mirror events she has done recently in other states to mobilize early voters. Harrisโ visit is not the only notable activity by the Biden campaign this week in Texas.
Ex-Texas officerโs trial set for next year in womanโs death
FORT WORTH, Texas โ A judge in Texas has tentatively set an August trial date for a white former police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson, a Black woman who was fatally shot through a window. Judge David Hagerman on Tuesday said the scheduling may be fluid but that the case of former Fort Worth officer Aaron Dean โneeds to be tried next year,โ the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. Dean resigned after he was charged with murder in the Oct. 12, 2019, shooting death of Jefferson. Jefferson had been babysitting her 8-year-old nephew at her mother's home when a neighbor called a non-emergency police line to report that a door was ajar. At Tuesdayโs pretrial proceedings, Hagerman said he would likely consider a motion to change the venue of the trial from Tarrant County, which is home to Fort Worth.
Tarrant County Judge disappointed as Southwest Believers Convention draws large, unmasked crowds
FORT WORTH A five-day evangelical convention in downtown Fort Worth brought in large crowds with very little regard to CDC health guidelines, officials said. A Tarrant County Judge is now speaking out with disappointment on both the organizers and the attendees at this years Southwest Believers Convention. However, face masks werent consistently worn by eventgoers. Saturday was the last day for the convention and since it is a religious gathering, its protected under Governor Abbotts executive orders. You can watch the full story in the video player above.
Texas man charged in fatal stabbing of 7-year-old brother
HALTOM CITY, Texas A Texas man was jailed on a capital murder charge Sunday after police say he fatally stabbed his 7-year-old brother in a suburb of Fort Worth. Officers were called to a home in Haltom City around 9:45 p.m. Saturday and found Jacob Gabriel Brito bleeding from multiple stab wounds, police said in a statement. Outside the house, officers found the the boy's 20-year-old brother, Isidro Brito Bruno, with what appeared to be a self-inflicted stab wound to his upper body, according to the statement from Police Chief Cody Phillips. Brito Bruno was being held in the Tarrant County jail Sunday morning on a $250,000 bond. Police said they are still investigating the stabbing and havent determined a motive.